Trump 'looking forward' to meeting with Bush family

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he's "looking forward" to spending time with the Bush family, whose members include longstanding political rivals of his, during their stay in Washington this week for the funeral of former President George H.W. Bush.

"Looking forward to being with the wonderful Bush family at Blair House today. The former First Lady will be coming over to the White House this morning to be given a tour of the Christmas decorations by Melania," Trump tweeted. "The elegance & precision of the last two days have been remarkable!"

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Bush, 94, died late Friday. He was elected president in 1988 and navigated the nation through the end of the Cold War and oversaw Operation Desert Storm, which expelled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces from Kuwait. Prior to becoming president, Bush served two terms as Ronald Reagan's vice president and was also CIA director, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a member of Congress representing Texas's 7th Congressional District.

Trump's emergence as the leader of the Republican Party has often put him at odds with the Bush family, most notably during the 2016 GOP primary, when the president labeled former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a son of George H.W. Bush, "low energy" amid relentless attacks against the family's political brand. The president did not attend the Houston funeral earlier this year of former first lady Barbara Bush, services that were attended by former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. First lady Melania Trump attended Barbara Bush's funeral on behalf of her husband's administration.

But Trump on Monday made a surprise visit to see Bush's remains, which are lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda. The president has recently been quick to praise the 41st president, a marked shift from his response to the death of another political rival, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whose passing in August was met with a muted, much-criticized response from Trump.

The president also declared Wednesday, when a funeral service for George H.W. Bush is scheduled to take place at Washington National Cathedral, a federal holiday and national day of mourning.